Continuous ultrasonic treatment of seeds

Apparatus for treating seeds continuously with ultrasonic transmission, the seeds being mixed with a flowable first medium that creates a flowable slurry of seeds, the flowable slurry continuously moving for a length of a flow pipe through a helical path within the flow pipe, the apparatus comprising:

• a flow pipe having an internal structure that forms a helical path for the length of the flow pipe for the flowable slurry that flows from an inlet to an outlet of the flow pipe;
• and
• a plurality of ultrasonic transducers with a power supply for generating the ultrasonic transmission by the transducers, the transducers arranged along the length of the flow pipe and of sufficient number and placement to provide ultrasonic transmission to the flowable slurry of seeds as they travel through the helical path;
• the ultrasonic transmission being applied by the ultrasonic transducers in a manner so as not to damage the seeds and to produce ultrasonically-treated seeds that have regulated germination characteristics, such that plants resulting from the ultrasonically-treated seeds when the seeds are planted have affected growth characteristics.